Assessment 3 (Teaching in the Digital age)
Assessment overview
This essay task provides you with an opportunity to construct an argument based on your understandings of the theoretical and practical aspects of the unit, and to articulate an informed perspective of teaching, schooling and the role of technology in the digital age.
Assessment details
You are to write a 1500-word persuasive essay, using third person, in which you develop an argument either for or against the following statement:
Technology allows children to learn anything, at any time, in any place, therefore schools (and teachers) are redundant in the digital age.
Essay requirements
your persuasive essay must be written in third person and must persuade your reader that your argument is valid and reasonable. That means you need to develop a coherent argument across the body of the essay and ensure you have well-reasoned points to argue. Your essay will be more persuasive if you draw on authoritative information. Ensure you are clear about the differences between writing descriptively and writing persuasively. Your eLA will discuss this in the Assessment 3 Collaborate session.
Your introduction must:
• introduce the topic
• contain a clearly stated thesis statement (a one-sentence response to the statement above)
• Introduce the essay itself.
As a general rule, an introduction should be no more than 10% of the total word count - in this case, no more than 150 words. You will need to be succinct.
In the body of your essay you will develop a series of arguable claims (for instance, that teachers are required to guide students through the maze of information available to them) backed up by good reasons that support that claim. Given the low word count for this task, you will need to make your own decision about the number of claims you make. If you make a lot of claims, you might forego depth for breadth (see criterion 2 for why it is important to consider depth over breadth). Each claim should support your thesis, and the essay must focus on persuading the reader.
In the conclusion you will need to sum up your arguments. Your conclusion should not introduce any new material and must not merely re-state the introduction. The conclusion should not be any more than 10% of the overall word count - so no more than 150 words.
That leaves 1200 words for the body of your essay - use them wisely.
Your essay must develop an argument that persuades your reader one way or the other, and that explores the implications for:
• the role of the teacher in the digital age
• the purpose of schooling in the digital age
• the use of technology in education in the digital age.
Your essay must contain a definition of the digital age, and you are expected to draw on relevant, contemporary, scholarly literature to support your argument.
As you will be using evidence from the literature to support your arguments, you will need to ensure that you cite it according to APA referencing conventions.
Assessment criteria
1. Structure and development of response
2. Depth and relevance of arguments
3. Knowledge of the digital age, the role of the teacher, the purpose of schooling, and the use of technology.
4. Written expression